Around Texas, the January 30 birthday party massacre in Juarez was a grim reminder of the relentless violence that continues unabated in that city. Or it should have been. But the last few years have been an exercise in avoidance. In January 2009, the El Paso City Council passed a resolution noting that the War [...]

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On a happy note: Starting tomorrow, January 19, this blog will be inactive for a couple weeks as I’m away from my desk on paternity leave. My wife and I will go from outnumbering the younger generation to being evenly matched. Wish us luck.

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  From Burka’s story:  Just a year after it appeared that he was on the brink of his last race, he is poised to become one of the leaders of his party. His travel schedule, speaking engagements, and television appearances in recent months give every indication that he and his team of advisers are looking beyond Texas [...]

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Tom Alexander’s new book about Stanley Marcus is well worth a read for the chapters on Fortnight alone. Nowadays, some kid in Dallas can flip on the Travel Channel or go to a million different websites to see pictures of Bavarian castles or the hall of mirrors at Versailles or traditional Irish pubs, but none of [...]

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Listen to the talented and mellifluous John Burnett’s piece from NPR’s Morning Edition today about Texas dance halls, coming off of our cover story from December. And while you’re there, I highly recommend spending some time browsing through John’s archive of stories, most of which take place in the southwest (John is based in Austin). [...]

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